Were you safe? Was the pack of cigarettes full? Empty? In between? Any partially smoked cigarettes? Relevant which brand? How many? True story? FYOI (From Your Own Imagination)? FSEI (From Someone Else's Imagination)? Were you inside? Outside? Relevant where in the world this happened? Was the pack of cigarettes real? Or virtual? Or fake? Normal cigarettes? Giant ones? Ones made of LEGOs?

Your cigarettes? Did they belong to someone you know? A stranger? Is the location of the cigarette pack (on a shelf in a store, in someone's pocket, etc.) relevant? Any of the following relevant: continent? country? region? town/city/village? climate? geography? manmade structures? Safe from physical danger? danger of financial loss? safe from legal consequences? April Fools' Day relevant? Did you end up getting hurt? I hope not!

Your cigarettes? NoDid they belong to someone you know? NoA stranger? YesIs the location of the cigarette pack (on a shelf in a store, in someone's pocket, etc.) relevant? Yes

Any of the following relevant: continent? country? region? town/city/village? climate? geography? Only so far as a location where cigarettes are available, and something else which has yet to be discovered.

manmade structures? Yes

Safe from physical danger? Ok,yessish I guess, but difficult at this point to really answer. Hint: read the puzzle statement again.

danger of financial loss? Noish

safe from legal consequences? Do you mean that the cigarettes saved me some legal consequences? If so, Noish. Otherwise rephrase

I'm not good at straight-forward answers either (or straight-forward questions for that matter), so I would never judge another for it.

Did you think you would be injured? get ill? Were you misled to believe you were safe? Was it the packaging itself that led you to believe you were safe? If so, the design? something written on the packet? Or was it just that there was a packet of cigarettes there? You were outside, but were the cigarettes also outside? Were laying on a surface? Standing up on one end? Were they in a pocket? in someone else's hand? Hm, I have an odd idea- was it a safe area? Is crime relevant?

Did you think you would be injured? Yesish - it was a concernget ill? No

Were you misled to believe you were safe?No.. Was it the packaging itself that led you to believe you were safe? If so, the design? something written on the packet? None of theseOr was it just that there was a packet of cigarettes there? Yessish

You were outside, but were the cigarettes also outside? YesWere laying on a surface? Standing up on one end? Were they in a pocket? No to those, but in someone else's hand? Yes . Hm, I have an odd idea- was it a safe area? Hmm, yes I think. Is crime relevant? No, not in the US definition of criminal activity

Do you smoke? Relevant? No and not relevant

Would this work with one cigarette? No. With a package of marijuana joints? With a package of marijuana joints in Amsterdam where they are legal? Possibly where they are legal, such as in Amsterdam, although I am not absolutely sure due to lack of knowledge. .

Did you think that you would be safe from being the victim of a crime? Due to the appearance of the pack of cigarettes, yes, although I might as well say that I was only Yopeishly concerned an actual crime would be committed, before the cigarettes came into play. Explore more the possibility of injury.

If cigarettes were illegal, would this have worked? Would the puzzle itself work? No. . If marijuana joints were legally handled exactly like cigarettes, would this have worked with them? Yes

So would marijuana not work because it's Illegal? Yes Or is there more to it? What is "it"? Is there more to the puzzle? Of course!Would any pack of smokeable thingies which have the same legal status as cigarettes work? Yes, and..

Would any pack of anything with the same legal status as cigarettes work? Even if it wasn't smokeable? Like if we were to say you need to be 18 to buy batteries? Speaking of which.... is it relevant that you can't buy/smoke cigarettes until you're 18? And I meant is there more to why marijuana wouldn't work but cigarettes would. But since any smokebale thing with the same legal status as cigarettes would work, I guess not.

Would any pack of anything with the same legal status as cigarettes work? Noish doyd of pack. Even if it wasn't smokeable? Yes! It wouldn't need to be smokeable. Like if we were to say you need to be 18 to buy batteries? OTWT..see below Speaking of which.... is it relevant that you can't buy/smoke cigarettes until you're 18? NoishAnd I meant is there more to why marijuana wouldn't work but cigarettes would.No, it's only because the former is illegal But since any smokebale thing with the same legal status as cigarettes would work, I guess not

Hint: this is somewhat of a lateral puzzle. Expanding your focus might work better here.

Are the cigarettes themselves relevant? Or only what they were in? Were they in a conventional cigarette pack? Or some other "pack"? Like a UPS package? Or a pencil case? Or the bullet holder of the gun?

bloop: Are the cigarettes themselves relevant?? Maybe yessish.... the pack of cigs isn't vital to to the puzzle, but that's how the thing went down. Could of been by some other means.. but still explore the cigarettes...

Ah yes, I'd missed the post where you said they were in someone else's hand. So, did you think this person was going to injure you?

Would the injury have been caused by a weapon? An animal? A person? More than one person? Fire? Impact? Poison? Medical event (like heart attack, etc)?

Would the injury have been inflicted deliberately? Accidentally? As a result of trying to injure someone else? Did you think that you were at risk of injury? Someone else?

Did you think that the cigarettes were something else? Did you believe you were safe because you thought the cigarettes were something whose presence in the person's hand made you safe? And what made you think you were safe - the fact that the cigarettes were in his hand? The that he had some cigarettes, as opposed to not having any? The fact that he, rather than another person, was holding the cigarettes?

Ah yes, I'd missed the post where you said they were in someone else's hand. So, did you think this person was going to injure you? It was a possibility, although I admit that although I was concerned, there was probably not a huge chance of this happening. Possibly something else negative to me might more likely have happened. Maybe worth exploring.

Would the injury have been caused by a weapon? Possibly I guess but more likely not An animal? no A person? Most likely More than one person? This could be as well Fire? Impact? Poison? Medical event (like heart attack, etc)? No to these

Would the injury have been inflicted deliberately?Yes Did you think that you were at risk of injury? Somewhat, see above Someone else? Noish

Did you think that the cigarettes were something else? No Did you believe you were safe because you thought the cigarettes were something whose presence in the person's hand made you safe? Indirectly, Yes And what made you think you were safe - the fact that the cigarettes were in his hand? See last answer The that he had some cigarettes, as opposed to not having any? Yope The fact that he, rather than another person, was holding the cigarettes? Yes

Was the person who was holding the cigarettes male? Female? Adult? Was it a policeman? A security guard? A person engaged in criminal activity? A person who was there in an official capacity? Did you speak to this person? Did this person speak to you? If yes to either of these, was this before you saw the cigarettes? At the same moment as you saw them? Afterwards?

Was there a fight going on? A riot? A demonstration? A sporting event?

Did you think you might be arrested? Had you done something wrong? Were you doing something wrong? Were other people doing something wrong?

Did the person have anything in his other hand? Was he holding anything apart from the cigarettes?

Were you inside when this happened? Outside? In a vehicle? Had you been smoking? Were you smoking when you saw the person?

Was the person who was holding the cigarettes male? Female? Adult? Ok, Jane, Male and Adult. Was it a policeman? A security guard? A person engaged in criminal activity? A person who was there in an official capacity? No, or irrelevant to all those, except maybe criminal activity, but even there probably no. Definitely not technically, in the legal sense in the US. Did you speak to this person? Did this person speak to you? No and no. If yes to either of these, was this before you saw the cigarettes? At the same moment as you saw them? Afterwards?

Was there a fight going on? A riot? A demonstration? A sporting event? No to these

Did you think you might be arrested? No Had you done something wrong? Good Question! I really don't know! This would be worth exploring! . Were you doing something wrong? No, not at the time of the cigarette episode, but possibly before (see above) . Were other people doing something wrong? Before I saw the cigarettes, again, I don't know! As far as the timeline afterwards, It's more depends on your definition of "wrong", bot no-ish

Did the person have anything in his other hand? Was he holding anything apart from the cigarettes? I don't know,but irrelevant.

Were you inside when this happened? Outside? Outside In a vehicle? No, not when I saw the cigs, but interesting question. Had you been smoking? No Were you smoking when you saw the person? No

Did you think you might be mugged? That someone would steal something from you?

If you don't know whether you had done something wrong...were you in a place where you were unfamiliar with the law? Customs? Had you done something which could have turned out to be "wrong"? Did you think that you might be "injured" because of something you had done? Because of something someone else had done? Because of the prevailing circumstances in that place at that time?

Was the person holding the cigarettes very close to you when you saw him? Within touching distance? Was he moving towards you? Away from you? Was he moving? Was he in a vehicle? Was he with anyone else?

Had you been in a vehicle before you saw the cigarettes? Did you see the man with the cigarettes and the cigarettes at the same time? Did you see him before you noticed the cigarettes? Did you notice the cigarettes by chance, because you were looking at him/in his direction? Or did you look to see if he was holding something? If so, did you look to see if he was holding cigarettes? If he was holding something other than cigarettes? To see whether his hands were empty?

Did you think you might be mugged? That someone would steal something from you? No, not that.

If you don't know whether you had done something wrong...were you in a place where you were unfamiliar with the law? No Customs? No Had you done something which could have turned out to be "wrong"? Well, if I had done this wrong thing it might possibly turned out bad (though in most cases not), but I may or may not have done it, I don't know. So it is not an issue of whether "X" is wrong or not - I know that "X" is wrong, but the question is, did I actually do "X". Did you think that you might be "injured" because of something you had done? Because of something someone else had done? Yes, possibly to both, and this is interesting because it applies to to different points in the time frame, in the sequence of events, but in a vastly different way Because of the prevailing circumstances in that place at that time? Mmm if not answered above, rephrase pour par vor lol

Was the person holding the cigarettes very close to you when you saw him? maybe 50 feet give or take . Within touching distance? No. Was he moving towards you? Away from you? Not directly toward or away from me Was he moving? Yes Was he in a vehicle? No Was he with anyone else? doyd = depends on your definition...

Had you been in a vehicle before you saw the cigarettes? YES! Did you see the man with the cigarettes and the cigarettes at the same time? No, I had also seen him before he had the cigarettes. Did you see him before you noticed the cigarettes? Yes Did you notice the cigarettes by chance, because you were looking at him/in his direction? Yesish Or did you look to see if he was holding something? If so, did you look to see if he was holding cigarettes? If he was holding something other than cigarettes? To see whether his hands were empty? No the the rest, in the sense that I had not set out to look to see if some person were carrying something

Did you actually do "X"? Did the person with the cigarettes think you had done it? Did you think he thought you had done it? If so, did you think so until you saw the cigarettes?

Is X a driving offence? Was the man walking along the road? The pavement? Did he have a dog with him? Another animal? Had you driven past him before you saw him with the cigarettes? Did he go into a shop to buy them? If so, did you see him go in? Did you see him come out? Were you watching him deliberately? Did you think he might have gone into the shop to do something else, and the cigarettes proved he had only gone in to buy them?

The bad thing, more likely than physical injury, was it damage to your car? Being reported to the police? Having to pay for something?

Had you been driving? Someone else? Had you been in a car? Or a different kind of vehicle? Had he been driving before you saw him with the cigarettes? Had you had some kind of accident? Road rage incident?

Did you actually do "X"? Well I'm not quite sure actually Did the person with the cigarettes think you had done it? Well I don't think he did so much as an other person he was with. Did you think he thought you had done it? I don't know, but I think probably not, because of his later behaviour. If so, did you think so until you saw the cigarettes? Well, actually due to the one-person-involved false assumption, I can't really answer this just yet..

Is X a driving offence? Maybe not legally, but yes, it would be considered bad and potentially dangerous driving. Was the man walking along the road? The pavement? Did he have a dog with him? Another animal? Had you driven past him before you saw him with the cigarettes? No to the above and again the false assumption. Did he go into a shop to buy them? Yes Did you see him come out? Literally no, but when I saw him it was obvious that he had just come out of a shop with them. Were you watching him deliberately? No. Did you think he might have gone into the shop to do something else, and the cigarettes proved he had only gone in to buy them? Nothing like this

The bad thing, more likely than physical injury, was it damage to your car? Being reported to the police? Having to pay for something? Well, there where two cases in the time frame where something bad might have happened. So, in the first part of the story, damage to the car and possibly injury. In the second phase actually the same risks but much slighter and much less severe. Reported to the police - doubtful. Having to pay for something - doubtful as well.

Had you been driving? Yes Someone else? Driving my car? no. But yes, someone else had been driving. And to clear up a false assumption, "cigarette man" was a passenger in a car that someone else was driving.

Road rage incident? Hmm, ok, cursing, tailgating, cornering me in a parking lot... Ok I guess that means yessish to yes! I think it would qualify.

Oh, I misunderstood an earlier answer. So was he with someone else? Was he in a taxi? Did the driver of the other car curse, tailgate and corner you in a parking lot? If so, was this because he thought you had done X? Because he was angry that you might have done X?

Does X involve hitting another car? Causing another car to brake? or swerve suddenly? Causing another car to hit something? Slowing down another car?

How much time elapsed between the two times something bad could have happened - less than 5 minutes? more than an hour? more than a day?

So there were two occasiona on which something bad might have happened. On the first, you were driving. The man with the cigarettes was a passenger in another car. Is this right? So did you do something to annoy the other driver? If so, were you aware that you were doing it? had done it? Were you immediately aware that you had annoyed him?

Would the bad thing that might have happened at this stage - the damage to the car and possible injury - have been the result of X? Or the result of the actions of the other driver?

On the second occasion, is it correct that you were not in your car? That cigarette man was not in a car? Was the driver of the other car around at that time? Was he with cigarette man? Did you see the other car? Did you see the other man? Did you recognise cigarette man as the passenger from the other car? Did he recognise you? Did you think he might confront you? Did you think he might assault you? Did the cigarettes make you think you had a good chance of outrunning him?

Oh, I misunderstood an earlier answer. So was he with someone else? Cig Dude was a passenger in a car that someone else was driving. Was he in a taxi? No. Did the driver of the other car curse, tailgate and corner you in a parking lot? Yes If so, was this because he thought you had done X? Can't know for sure, but could be yes to yesish Because he was angry that you might have done X? See above

Does X involve hitting another car? Causing another car to brake? or swerve suddenly? Causing another car to hit somethin? Slowing down another car? Yesish to all except the first. Well ok, X is turning on to a road without leaving enough room for a car that is approaching on the main road. i.e. cutting somebody off.

How much time elapsed between the two times something bad could have happened - less than 5 minutes? 5 minutes at the most more than an hour? more than a day?

So there were two occasiona on which something bad might have happened. On the first, you were driving. The man with the cigarettes was a passenger in another car. Is this right? Yeppers. So did you do something to annoy the other driver? Yes or Yesish, I don't know. If so, were you aware that you were doing it? had done it? Were you immediately aware that you had annoyed him? No to the last three q's

Would the bad thing that might have happened at this stage - the damage to the car and possible injury - have been the result of X? Or the result of the of the other driver? Ok, well, the thing is I may or may not have cut off another driver by pulling into traffic without leaving enough distance for him to maintain speed. So yeah, I was thinking damage to the car and injury, but I don't know who's fault it would have been.. there are some issues here which makes me doubt my guilt, which are not needed to solve the puzzle but which I will talk about in the spoiler, which I'm sure will happen soon ;-)

On the second occasion, is it correct that you were not in your car? Yes That cigarette man was not in a car? and yes. Was the driver of the other car around at that time? Oh indeed he was! Was he with cigarette man? dyod - I was able to see them both at the same time Did you see the other man? Which on is the other man? Did you recognise cigarette man as the passenger from the other car? Yes Did he recognise you? Yes Did you think he might confront you? No Did you think he might assault you? No Did the cigarettes make you think had a good chance of outrunning him? No, not that

OK, so looking now at the period in between the two incidents: did the driver of the other car follow you, cursing and tailgating? Did he continue to do so until you stopped? Did you stop first? Did you decide to pull into the parking lot? Were you trying to get away from him? Did he follow you into the parking lot? Did anything else significant happen between you pulling out in front of him and him arriving in the parking lot? Was Cigarette Man (or, more accurately, the man who would become Cigarette Man) in the car when he pulled into the parking lot?

This is when he cornered you, right? So did Cigarette Man go into the shop while he cornered you? Did he touch you? Threaten you? Shout at you? Did he speak to Cigarette Man? Did he tell him to get something from the shop? To do something while he was in the shop? To do something but not necessarily in the shop? Did Cigarette Man speak to him? Did Cigarette Man speak to you?

OK, so looking now at the period in between the two incidents: did the driver of the other car follow you, cursing and tailgating? Well tailgating at least Did he continue to do so until you stopped? Did you stop first? Yesish to both, the second-to-second details aren't im portant. Did he follow you into the parking lot? Yes . Did anything else significant happen between you pulling out in front of him and him arriving in the parking lot? Not really, but remember, pulling out in front of him in an unsafe manner is in doubt in my mind .. although not really relevant to the puzzle solution Was Cigarette Man (or, more accurately, the man who would become Cigarette Man) in the car when he pulled into the parking lot? Yes

This is when he cornered you, right? Ok from your following questions, I assume you're referring to the driver. And so the answer is yes So did Cigarette Man go into the shop while he cornered you? No. And again keeping in mind you possible F/A of who "he" is. Did he touch you? Threaten you? Shout at you? He only shouted at me Did he speak to Cigarette Man? Did he tell him to get something from the shop? To do something while he was in the shop? To do something but not necessarily in the shop? Did Cigarette Man speak to him? Did Cigarette Man speak to you? No to the above, unless this happened out of my presence (hint?)

So...did the driver park near your car? Did he park near the shop? Did the driver go into the shop? Did he get out of his car and come straight over to you? Did he notice you straight away? Did Cigarette Man go into the shop before the driver cornered you? Afterwards? Was CM present when the driver cornered you?

Did they get out of the car together? Was there a delay in between them pulling into the parking lot and getting out of the car? Between them getting out of the car and CM going into the shop? Between them getting out of the car and the driver cornering you?

Were you trying to get away from the other driver before you pulled into the parking lot? Is that why you pulled in?

So...did the driver park near your car? Well, not exactly parked... . Did he park near the shop? Same answer, my car was in front of the shop anyway . Did the driver go into the shop? no Did he get out of his car and come straight over to you? no Did he notice you straight away? Yes, depending on what you mean by straight away. The driver knew that I was the driver of the car that annoyed him because he knew I was the one driving my car Did cigarette Man go into the shop before the driver cornered you? No Afterwards? Yessiree bob Was CM present when the driver cornered you? Yes

Did they get out of the car together? No and F/A Was there a delay in between them pulling into the parking lot and getting out of the car Yesish, except for _two_ false assumptions! Between them getting out of the car and CM going into the shop? Between them getting out of the car and the driver cornering you?

Okay I think you have a false assumption that the driver at some point got out of the car.

Were you trying to get away from the other driver before you pulled into the parking lot? Is that why you pulled in? No to both

Did the man block you in? Did he drive into your car? Did he shout at you from his car? Was CM in the car while the driver shouted at you? Is it relevant what the driver was shouting? Could you hear what he was shouting? Did you understand what he was shouting? Was he speaking a foreign language?

Did he actually drive into the parking lot? Did he block the entrance of the parking lot? Could you have driven away while he was shouting at you, if you had got back into your car? Was he close to you while he was shouting?

Did CM get out of the car after the driver started shouting at you? Did he get out of the car while the driver was shouting at you? After he had finished shouting at you? If this is a FA, did the man continue shouting at you after CM went into the shop? Did you move around while he was shouting at you? Did you approach his car? Did you go into the shop? Did you try to escape?

Did the man block you in? No or maybe Noish Did he drive into your car? No. Did he shout at you from his car? Yes. I had a tactic to bewilder him and quiet him down though :-) (not that important to the puzzle) Was CM in the car while the driver shouted at you? Yes Is it relevant what the driver was shouting? Could you hear what he was shouting? Did you understand what he was shouting? Yes to the above Was he speaking a foreign language? No

Did he actually drive into the parking lot? Yes Did he block the entrance of the parking lot? NoCould you have driven away while he was shouting at you, if you had got back into your car? Yes, but (And I hate to say this again) there's a false assumption there :-) Maybe I should mention that some people might consider this drama as having three incidents and not two, but it really depends on you definition of incident of course.Sorry if I mislead at some point. Was he close to you while he was shouting? Yes.

Did CM get out of the car after the driver started shouting at you? Did he get out of the car while the driver was shouting at you? After he had finished shouting at you? This If this is a FA, did the man continue shouting at you after CM went into the shop? No Did you move around while he was shouting at you? No Did you approach his car? Yes,at one point Did you go into the shop? I certainly did go into a shop! Possibly not the same one, but one next door served by the same parking lot. That was a really good question Did you try to escape? No, didn't need to

But let me try to unravel it anyway, to make room for a new one: did you get out of your car while he was in the parking lot in his car? If not, before he entered? After he entered? This other incident...during it, were you in your car? Were you out of your car? Was anyone else with you in the car at any point during any of the incidents? Was it your car? Was it someone else's car?

Assuming my definition of "incident" means that there were in fact three incidents, did the as yet unidentified incident happen before you (perhaps) pulled out in front of the other driver? Before he started to follow you? Before you pulled into the parking lot? Before he pulled into the parking lot?

Were you in your car when he was shouting at you? Did you get out of your car to go into the shop? Are the three incidents: 1. possible traffic offence 2. driver tailgating you, you both pulling into the parking lot and him shouting at you? 3. you seeing CM with the cigarettes?

One new false assumption per post is my current target Could be not your fault - maybe I tend to give ambiguous answers and maybe not enough clarification and hints. If you have any feedback on how I could better host a puzzle it would be welcome.

But let me try to unravel it anyway, to make room for a new one: did you get out of your car while he was in the parking lot in his car? Yes, although I didn't realize it at the time If not, before he entered? After he entered? This other incident...during it, were you in your car? Were you out of your car? Yes Was anyone else with you in the car at any point during any of the incidents? Good question! but no Was it your car? Was it someone else's car? Not completely sure what you mean, but I was driving my own car, and the other driver was presumably driving _his_ car

Assuming my definition of "incident" means that there were in fact three incidents, did the as yet unidentified incident happen before you (perhaps) pulled out in front of the other driver? Before he started to follow you? Before you pulled into the parking lot? Before he pulled into the parking lot? No, only the first incident happened in that time frame - Don't worry you're going to get a re-cap.

Were you in your car when he was shouting at you? Yes. Did you get out of your car to go into the shop? Yes Are the three incidents: 1. possible traffic offence 2. driver tailgating you, you both pulling into the parking lot and him shouting at you? 3. you seeing CM with the cigarettes?

I don't think your answers are ambiguous at all, and you give much more clarification that you are strictly required to. Knowing you are missing something is all part of the fun of trying to solve a puzzle, in my opinion!

Was CM in the other driver's car when you went into the shop? Did you believe you had ended your dispute with the other driver when you went into the shop? Did he drive away after you had employed your cunning method of dealing with him (which intrigues me, but I think I have enough to deal with at the moment!)? If so, was CM in the car when he drove away? Did you go into the shop thinking that the other driver had gone? Did you see CM with the cigarettes when you came out of the shop?

Was CM in the other driver's car when you went into the shop? Yes Did you believe you had ended your dispute with the other driver when you went into the shop? YesDid he drive away after you had employed your cunning method of dealing with him (which intrigues me, but I think I have enough to deal with at the moment!)? No, and the method isn't really that cunning and probably doesn't always work If so, was CM in the car when he drove away? Yes Did you go into the shop thinking that the other driver had gone? Yes Did you see CM with the cigarettes when you came out of the shop? No, but very soon after. Was CM in the other driver's car when you went into the shop? Yes

So after Incident no. 2, the shouting, the driver and CM drove away. You thought they had gone. You got out of your car and went to buy food. You didn't get back into your car immediately. Very shortly afterwards, you saw CM. Is this all correct? Or were CM and the driver still in the car in the parking lot when you went into the shop? Did you think they had gone? Had they driven off but returned without you realising it? Is it correct that you didn't see CM go into the shop? Is it therefore correct that when you saw him, you didn't immediately know that he had been to buy cigarettes?

When you came out of the shop after buying the food, did you do something else? Did you eat the food in the restaurant? Was it a takeaway restaurant? Did you eat the food outside the restaurant? Did you do anything else significant between exiting the restaurant/takeaway and seeing CM?

When you saw CM, did you think that the other driver had come back? If so, did you think that he/they had come back to continue shouting at you? To do something which would have resulted in "injury" to you? Did you notice the cigarettes immediately? Did you speak to him? Did he speak to you? Did you make any kind of gesture to him? Did he make any kind of gesture to you? Were you walking towards him when you saw him? Standing still? Walking away from him? Walking towards your car? Walking towards another place? Sitting down? Eating? Doing something else relevant? Was he walking towards you? Was he walking towards the other car? Did he recognise you? Was it obvious that he recognised you?

Did you notice the cigarettes at the exact moment you saw him? Did you notice that he had something in his hand? Did you wonder what it was before you realised it was cigarettes? Or did you wonder what he was doing there before you realised he had been buying cigarettes?

So after Incident no. 2, the shouting, the driver and CM drove away. Yope You thought they had gone. Yes You got out of your car and went to buy food. yes You didn't get back into your car immediately. No I didn't. Very shortly afterwards, you saw CM. Yes Is this all correct? Yesish, see above Or were CM and the driver still in the car in the parking lot when you went into the shop? But this, it turned out, is most likely also true. Did you think they had gone? Yes. Had they driven off but returned without you realising it? Most likely no, but I don't know for sure. irrel in any case. Is it correct that you didn't see CM go into the shop? Yes. Is it therefore correct that when you saw him, you didn't immediately know that he had been to buy cigarettes? After I saw him, it was only a few seconds before I knew (because I was him walk from the the group of store holding cigarrettes).

When you came out of the shop after buying the food, did you do something else? Yes Did you eat the food in the restaurant? No, and it wasn't a restaurant, it was a small grocery store and delicatessen, Was it a takeaway restaurant? Did you eat the food outside the restaurant? Yes, but only when I got home Did you do anything else significant between exiting the restaurant/takeaway and seeing CM? Only in that I put my purchases in my car before what I did next

When you saw CM, did you think that the other driver had come back? So sorry, but another partially false assumption If so, did you think that he/they had come back to continue shouting at you? To do something which would have resulted in "injury" to you? Did you notice the cigarettes immediately? Did you speak to him? No Did he speak to you? No Did you make any kind of gesture to him? No Did he make any kind of gesture to you? <b?yes!</b> Were you walking towards him when you saw him >b? Yessish Standing still? </b>Or maybe this</b> Walking away from him? NoWalking towards your car? No Walking towards another place? Yes Sitting down? No Eating? No Doing something else relevant? Yes Was he walking towards you? Yesish to yes Was he walking towards the other car? And this too!

Did you notice the cigarettes at the exact moment you saw him? Not at the exact moment, but we could say yes for the puzzle Did you notice that he had something in his hand? Yes Did you wonder what it was before you realised it was cigarettes? No Or did you wonder what he was doing there before you realised he had been buying cigrettes? Again maybe for just a few seconds, but we could say no

Is it relevant whether the other driver was in the car park while you were buying food? Yes Is it relevant whether you thought he was? Yope

Did CM offer you a cigarette? No Did he move one of his hands? Arms? Yes to both His head? Yes as well but might be misleading Did you realise he was walking towards the other car? Yes Were you also walking towards the other car? Yes

Did he wave? Did he make a gesture which looked threatening? Abusive? Did he appear to beckon you over? Whatever his gesture was, did you interpret it correctly at the time?

Did you know the other car was there when you were walking towards it? Were you walking towards it on the way to do something else? As you were doing something else? Were you walking towards it because you wanted to go in that direction? Because you happened to walk in that direction? Because you wanted to get the registration number? To interact with the guy in the car?

Did he wave? Not exactly, but very OTRT, just put a gesture and an object together and you almost got it I think. Did he make a gesture which looked threatening? Quite the opposite! Abusive? Likewise,No Did he appear to beckon you over? No Whatever his gesture was, did you interpret it correctly at the time? It appears so

Did you know the ther car was there when you were walking towards it? Yes Were you walking towards it on the way to do something else? Yope - once I saw that the car was there, I approached it on purpose As you were doing something else? No Were you walking towards it because you wanted to go in that direction? Yes because you happened to walk in that direction? Because you wanted to get the registration number? No to the last two To interact with the guy in the car? Yes!

Did you use a phone? No Did CM? probably not. Phones aren't relevant here

There's really not much left to figure out here. Just ask the right question and I'll write the "S" word

When you came out of the shop, did you spot the other car before you spotted CM? Yes. I saw him approaching the car shortly after I was approaching the car myself. Did you approach the car with the intention of continuing the argument? Resolving the argument? Apologising? Mostly this

Did CM wave something at you? Well he held something in the air as he approached Was he trying to show you something? Yes, he was showing me the ciggarettes. But he was implying/signalling something by doing this Was the object a lighter? Was it a lighter shaped like a gun? So no

Was he implying that he meant you no harm? Was he signalling that he wasn't going to attack you, he had only been buying cigarettes? Was he signalling that the cigarettes were for the guy in the car?

***SPOILER**** Yes, you got it! Yes to all of the above!

So the sequence of events were:

1. I made a left turn on to a main road.

2. A few hundred yards later, I entered a shopping plaza, and a car that had been tailgating me pulled along side me in a somewhat threatening manner.

3. We rolled our windows down, and I noticed that this other car was a riced-up Honda, and these were young hopped-up guys, full of bravado or the like.

4. I politely asked them what the problem was. Did I cut them off? If so, where? ("Yes, at that left turn back there, asshole!"). "Well I'm really sorry about that - I don't know what happened there but I certainly didn't do it on purpose". It was very amusing watching the driver's expression, as if he was dismayed at the lack of confrontation.

5. Ok, I figured, so much with that. I went in to the deli to get my stuff, but on walking back out, I noticed that the other car was idling in the middle of the parking lot. This is not a good sign I thought. I was un-nerving, because I had already diffused the situation, so I thought. I decided that rather than get into my own car and try to drive around the car, that I would just approach the driver and apologise again, and maybe chat with him about how cool his car was and what mods he had done with it.

6. So I approach the car on foot. But now I see his passenger jogging up to the car. For only a second or two, I thought that this was a bad sign, until I saw him holding up his pack of cigs that he had just bought, emphasising that the reason the car was still in the parking lot was not because these guys were lying in wait for me, but because the driver was just waiting for his passenger to drop in to the store to buy some cigarettes.

And as to whether I was truly guilty or not, I can't say for certain. Certainly I would never create a hazard on purpose. Contributing factors could be that I had just got a new car and maybe that was distracting, and that the approaching car may have been approaching at twice the rate of speed that I judged it was. So I don't really know if I did something wrong, or whether these guys just were hopped up and miffed about having to slow down because they were driving twice the speed limit. (And again, I could have easily been as fault as well ..).

So, when you're driving, just be on your gaurd and always keep an eye out for traffic!

Nice puzzle! I was thinking, while reading, that you thought that the CM was going to get a gun (or some friends) to punish you and you were relieved when noticing that he only went to buy cigarettes : - )

Nice puzzle! I was thinking, while reading, that you thought that the CM was going to get a gun (or some friends) to punish you and you were relieved when noticing that he only went to buy cigarettes : - )

Nah, I don't live in that kind of neighbourhood,My intuition just told me that these were a just a couple of 20 year old boys that were blowing smoke, so to to speak. Again, not to say that I wasn't in the wrong.. It's possible that I did indeed pull out on to the road and cut them off... I don;t _think_ so, but there you have it.